Over the last few days, I think everything that can be said, has been said.  My mother put it best, I think, when she pointed out to me that the response in Japan has been beautiful.  No looting, no reports of people hurting each other or capitalizing on this tragedy.  Just people pulling together, helping each other, braving their way through the catastrophe as best they can.

People I haven't heard from in years have been contacting me to make sure I'm all right.  For the record, I moved back to the United States last August and am safely in California, far from the disaster.  No-one I know has been hurt, given that most of my acquaintances are from the Tokyo or western Hokkaido areas; but really, that fact doesn't lighten anyone's load but my own.

Among all the stories of destruction and loss, I was touched and cheered up slightly by the news of "Operation Yashima", a movement spread over Twitter and other social networks by the otaku of Japan to get citizens to shut down their unnecessary electrical equipment between the hours of 6 and 8pm, in order to leave more power for damaged regions during that period of peak demand.  The name of the movement is taken from a famous battle in Neon Genesis Evangelion, in which the power grid of Japan was tapped to defeat a monstrous enemy.  Appropriate, and wonderful to see, especially from the supposedly shy and introverted online generation.

Obviously, shutting off our lamps isn't going to help the people of the Touhoku region, but if you do want to donate, I recommend doing it directly through the Google page set up for the purpose.  It sends funds straight to the Japanese Red Cross, where they can be used with maximum efficiency, without any international shunting back and forth.

Donate here: [link]

If you have the time, please copy and paste the URL below into your own journals, without the spaces.  We can't boost the electrical grid of Japan, but let's at least boost the signal for international relief.

< b >Help Japan - Donate Directly To The Japanese Red Cross:< /b > http ://ww w.google.co.jp/intl/en/crisisresponse/japanquake2011 .html

It's official.

Mike and Bryan are working on a new series set in the Avatar universe.

Everyone's wondering who Korra is, and many are speculating that s/he is a Water Avatar.  Some want him/her to be the child or grandchild of their favorite pairing.  Some want him/her to be the reincarnation of a character whose final outcome they didn't appreciate in the first series.

Personally, I have one burning hope for this series, and only one.  And it's one that I haven't seen much online in the buzz of anticipation.

Please, O Spirits of the Avatar World, let this series be set in the past.

Yes, hundreds of years ago, before the world was broken by war.  I want to see the old world that Aang loved, in all its lively richness and splendor.  I want to see the Air Nomads in their prime, and meet a diverse scatter of Airbenders in the cast.  I want to see the Fire Nation in their glory, before Sozin's grasping ambition poisoned their culture.  And I would definitely not object to a cameo from Oma and Shu themselves.

The Gaang guided the world of Avatar into the future.  I would like nothing better than to find that the Korrew, whoever they will be, plan to take us on a trip into Once Upon A Time.

...well, actually, only two polls.  One silly, and one (slightly) more serious.

1)  I had a lot of trouble deciding on a title for Another Coraline.  ~PikeBot and I were hammering out the final beta touches and chatting over AIM, the night before the first chapter was supposed to go up, and I was wigging out about my fifty-four-page fanfic with no title.

We ended up going with the simplest route and just calling it Another Coraline, but as I got more and more frustrated and sleep-drunk before we came up with that option, the possible titles we were brainstorming got sillier and sillier.

The following seven titles were all actually suggested for the fic quite late in the night, though none of them were meant seriously.  Just for a laugh, I thought I'd post them.  Which one's your favorite?

2) This poll requires a lot less explanation.  I'm thinking of writing some short stories and oneshots in the Another Coraline timeline.  What sort of fic would you like to see?

If you have any more specific requests or ideas, please mention them in the comments!  I can't promise for sure that any of these will be written, but it's nice to have an idea of what catches the general interest, y'know?

Thanks again for reading, and for voting!
-Tobu

(It seems like a more appropriate verb than "wrapping"...)

Ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter and epilogue of Another Coraline have been posted.  This marks the end of a four-month process of writing and editing.  I feel relieved, and at the same time a little sad to see it all finish up.  I suppose I'll have to find something else to feverishly type away at, around 11:57pm on a work night.

--

Dedication

For being a sounding board, a firm disciplinarian, a fellow author and a tireless cheerleader...this fic is for ~PikeBot, who midwifed me through the creative process from the story's very hour of conception until the last words were posted.

Special thanks also to my hardworking betas on ff.net: audi katia, StylishEvil, and the inestimable Caturday, who was as tough and as insightful as anyone could ever want.  Thanks to my endlessly patient boyfriend, for never raising a word of complaint while I tapped away in Laptop Land, and to all the friends who read the various drafts and gave their advice, particularly Megan and Cynthia.  To anyone I may have forgotten--thank you, and thanks again for putting up with my flakiness.

And of course, thank you to my readers.  You've brightened up my days with your responses and reactions to the story.  I hope it was as fun to read as it was to write, or more so.

Cheers, everyone.
Tobu

--

And finally, two "thank-you gifts" for y'all:

1) I've put together a sort of fanmixed soundtrack for the fic.  It's a little unconventional; there's one track for each chapter, and the songs are mostly music I listened to for atmosphere while writing, so their lyrical relevance to the plot varies.  Still, it's a pretty sweet little collection of music, and you can snag it here.

2) There is now photographic evidence of my trip to see Coraline in theaters.  It also shows what the theater lobby decorations look like for the movie out here.  I apologize deeply for what I think is the most unsettling face-censoring I have ever produced.  It seemed appropriate, somehow.

You know, I was afraid that seeing Coraline in theaters at last would feel like a waste of money.  I know this movie back to front, right?  I've watched my iTunes download something like five times, not counting the times I've skipped around in it, looking for a tidbit of information to help write Another Coraline.  Surely a 2100yen ticket will feel pointless.

It was like seeing a whole new movie.  The depth of certain scenes knocked my socks off, even though I was expecting it.  The tunnel scenes were even more dizzyingly telescopic than I had expected.  And I didn't expect the camera angles at all.  Very, very cool stuff.

(Also, at the giant size of a full theatrical screen, I noticed several little things I hadn't before...and hearing Bruno Coulais' Annie-winning score in surround sound was breathtaking.)

Overall, a very, very good experience.  My excellent boyfriend bought me the film pamphlet for my birthday, so I've scanned a few pages for your general perusal, by way of sharing the birthday love a little.  The best parts include several pages of full-color screenshots with the dialogue written in Japanese, and a great interview with the Japanese concept artist, Tadahiro Uesugi, who won an Annie this year for his work on Coraline.  It has lots of nifty concept art pictures to interest those who don't read Japanese!

-----------------------------
Cover: [link]
Character Page A: [link]
Character Page B: [link]
Full-Page Screenshot: [link]
Selick Interview: [link]
Gaiman Interview: [link]
Production Notes: [link]
Uesugi Interview A: [link]
Uesugi Interview B: [link]
Voice Actors: [link]
Full Cast List (Japanese and English): [link]
-----------------------------


As for Another Coraline news, chapter 4 is up!  There will be some very spoileriffic illustrations coming out in the next week, too.  You have been warned.  Serious stuff goes down (and up, and sideways!) in this chapter.  

Also, and this is very important.  Check out the gorgeous fanart that ~animekittynya made for me!  --> [link] <--  Send her some love, guys; she made this for me as a birthday gift out of the goodness of her heart and it's pretty much the best thing ever.  

Stay tuned for the next chapter; we're winding up to the end here!

-Tobu

Coraline's weekend may not be shaping up very well, now that chapter 3 is up, but mine is looking much nicer.

Today being my birthday, I'm taking it easy in the morning, and heading out to a weekend work meeting in the afternoon.  Work meetings are actually fun when you're a JET; they're the time you get to meet up with all the other English-speaking JETs scattered around Hokkaido and party after the official stuff is done.

And then, on Sunday, I am finally going to see "Coraline" in 3-D!  The movie hit theaters today in Japan, after over a year of delay, and I will be there with my goggles on in two days' time.  Huzzah!

(A few people have mentioned the possibility of fanart for Another Coraline lately.  To them I can only say that there are few things that would make my day, or my birthday, more completely.  Now please excuse me while I foam gleefully at the mouth for a moment.  )

We're past the halfway mark, guys!  Here's hoping the rest of the fic will be as well-received as the first half, and thank you so much--again--to everyone who's reviewed and shared the love so far.  

Cheers!
-Tobu

Ladies and gents, three pieces of good news today:

Firstly, that the second chapter of Another Coraline is up and running, on schedule.

Secondly, that you'll be getting the third chapter a day early, on February 18th, because the 19th is my birthday and I'm going to Furano.  (And on the way home on Sunday, I'll be stopping in Asahikawa to finally see Coraline in 3-D!  It hasn't come out here in Japan yet, so I've only seen it as an iTunes download, alas.)

And thirdly, that I've been accepted into graduate school!  Which means a less stressed and more optimistic Tobu, for now, and hopefully more productivity.  

Cheers!
-Tobu

Ladies and gentlemen, the prologue and first chapter of Another Coraline are posted and available for reading, just in time for the anniversary of the film's premiere.

Without spoiling too much, the story centers around an eighteen-year-old Coraline who had enough on her plate already, what with college applications and dealing with her family and friends, before the Other World started poking its nose into her life again.  Also, mud.  Lots and lots of mud.

I'm planning a pretty regular update schedule, with a new chapter every week for the next month or so, and I think it's fair to say that the next part of Coraline's story will be up on Friday, February 12th, if you're living in North America or thereabouts.  (Ah, the magic of timezones.)

Cheers!
-Tobu

On February 5th, 2009, a truly amazing animated film premiered at a few select theaters in the United States of America.  That film was Coraline, a gorgeously stop-animated film directed by Henry Selick and based on the book by Neil Gaiman.  [link]

One night in early November 2009, a conversation with my friend Peter about what would make a good sequel to Coraline got slightly out of control.  Suddenly, I had ideas.  Heaps of them.

I got out my laptop and started to write.

The resulting story takes place almost exactly seven years after Coraline's first adventure.  Without spoiling too much, I think I can safely say that it features nearly every character from the original film, and pits Coraline against shadows from her past as she struggles to come to terms with big changes in her life.

The prologue and first chapter will be posted on February 5th, 2010, the anniversary of the original film's premiere.

In the meantime, since I can't seem to write without drawing or draw without writing, I'm putting up some of the concept art I've done for the characters, both old and new.  ( [link] )  I know this story is only an unofficial fan-sequel, but I've had huge fun watching it come together, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what the rest of you think of it.

Cheers!

-Tobu Ishi

...today is mine.  

I'm turning twenty-four--and I'm an Ox by the Chinese zodiac, too, which makes me a toshi-onna (lady of the year).

I celebrated today by wearing a bright blue top hat shaped like a birthday cake on a plate to work, which I bought as a gag at the 100yen store and which caused much hilarity among my students and coworkers.  My parents sent me beautifully bound collections of Anderson and Kipling, so I'm thoroughly happy.  I'll be having a party at the local cafe with my English tutoring class later tonight...

...and, mysteriously, on returning home just now, I found that someone had climbed up and set a large slab of snow vertically on the shoveling-pile in my yard, and carved "Happy Birthday" across the front of it in katakana.  And shoveled the snow off my steps.  I have a secret well-wishing waterbender somewhere.  *intrigued and touched*

Good times!  Here's to another year of them.  

Alright, so far I've stayed out of the fan attempts to recast.

This, however, goes way beyond a simple resemblance.

If they're already planning to cast Jesse McCartney and a series of up-and-coming actors instead of total unknowns, surely there can be no objection to throwing one more young singer/actor into the mix.  This young man is talented, articulate, intelligent, charming, and capable of being completely, delightfully goofy...and he already has a warrior's wolftail.  (See timestamps 1:34 and 1:57 on the first video above.)  If it was in my power to cast 19-year-old, black-Italian Corbin Bleu as Sokka, it would already be done.

With young actors like this available, what is Paramount doing?

Thanks.  That's all.  

EDIT: Not quite all.  You can contact Corbin Bleu directly through the SayNow messaging service, designed for fans to communicate with celebs--his number is (818)641-1600.  Try not to terrify the poor guy with your best Foamy impression, though.  ^_^  The role of Sokka is, after all, "still in talks"...and Paramount has worked with Disney before.

This is not a Deviation.  Technically.  But it's image-based and I put so much work into it that it might as well be.  So!

*dodges anti-screenshot rules by posting this to her journal*

CLICK HERE FOR THE ENTIRE IMAGE-HEAVY THING.  WARNING, COMMENTS TO THIS COMM OFTEN INVOLVE MATURE LANGUAGE.

PRINCE ZUKO WHO WAS AVATAR AANG'S BUDDY WAS ONE DAY IN AN OFFICE WRITTING ON A SCROLL...  

Everybody?  Thank you, for everything you said on my last post.  I'll make this short and sweet (unusual for me, I know--this is why I don't often post) but I just wanted to make sure you all know how comforting it was to know there was so much love being sent to this kid.

Spidey's dad stopped by just now, after having dropped him off in Okinawa.  He says Spidey is loving the islands and hasn't called home yet, which they're calling a good sign in a kid his age, and he brought me a dragonfruit, which was awfully sweet of him.

So here's hoping all's well that ends well.  It's a pretty far-flung quest for study, but if any kid can settle in and make it his own...  

You guys?

Most of you know I live in Hokkaido, Japan.  What you might not know is that, over the course of my year and a few months working here as an English teacher, I've been very lovingly adopted by a family that runs a cafe down the street from my house.  They have two amazing kids, a boy and a girl, who I tutor in English; and they've invited me to their home for countless holiday dinners and feed me for free at their restaurant once or twice a week.

Their kids are just wonderful: bright, friendly and affectionate.  They've become like cousins to me, and I hugely enjoy spending time with them, teasing, teaching, having straw-paper blowdart battles and pantomimed martial arts scuffles.

Every so often, for the fun of picking easy English phrases ("Look out!" "Hey!" "Hi, I'm ..." "cold", "hot", "stop", "help", etc.) out of a real show, we watch movies together...and one of the American shows they've really taken to is A:tLA.  More often than not, they've begged their dad for an extra half hour on our tutoring evenings so we can watch just one more episode.  The little sister, age ten, wants to be an airbending Avatar herself; her older brother, age twelve, has firmly decided he's a firebender.

This spring, our bright and vivacious firebender entered middle school--the one that I teach at.  This fall, I found out he'd been being severely bullied, without my knowledge or that of most of the other teachers.  Two weeks ago, he was pulled out of school.

This morning, I got an email from his parents.  They've decided to send him to an intensive language school for the gifted, something he's wanted to do ever since he exchange studied in Canada a few years ago.  The school in question is headed by a trusted old friend of his father, and his father is bringing him in person, to ease the transition a little.  Half an hour ago, they both came to my house to say goodbye--his father will be down there for a week, the boy for eight months.

The school is in Okinawa.

I am, at the same time, so proud of him, so worried about him, so suddenly shocked at how much I'll miss him.  I'm praying so hard he'll see this as an adventure, something amazing and fun, and not an exile into lands unknown.

This is my kiddo, you guys.  The boy who first introduced himself to me in English, adding with a grin, "Call me Spidey."  He likes dousing hot-pepper oil on his spaghetti, he draws gifted caricatures, he cracks up and mutters "Aho..." (moron) every time Aang crashes into that statue in the opening sequence.  He high-fived me today with a constantly morphing expression of both happiness and apprehension; looked over his shoulder and waved both arms triumphantly at me as he stepped off my porch to go.  And his sister...they're only two years apart, and they've never been separated so long.

Send good vibes, you guys.  Send all you can manage of the love these kids are gonna need.  He's my neighbor and my adopted cousin, but I think it's fair to ask you guys, too.  After all, he's also one of us.  

Back in Japan, as a matter of fact, and continuing my slow decay into actually using my journal on dA like a normal person.  I hate journaling, it always has to be some kind of artistic essay or important event for my conscience to be clear.  ;_;  BUT.  I've been unproductive for so long, it only seems fair to let you people know what's up, especially contest winners waiting for their prizes.

So, lemme make like a Fire Nation Prince with the excuses:

I spent the last month in America with my family, and forgot before I left Japan that my middle brother had moved out to college for the summer and taken the scanner with him.  So I had no way to work on stuff over that month.  And since I got back, I've been busy getting my house in order for a parental visit next week, hence the continuing lack of new deviations.

And now, Q&A!

QUESTION: Where are the contest prizes?!
ANSWER: Sitting in sketch form on my couch.  They'll get there eventually.  I AM SO SORRY UNCLE.  m(_ _)m

QUESTION: What's with the cosplay photos?
ANSWER: That is how I spent my summer, since I couldn't scan/color.  Making a costume from scratch.  *is a nerd, hardcore*  Yes, I am Mai.  What?  Look at my face and tell me without cracking up that I would make a good Katara, and if you can manage it I'll give you a cookie.  Next year, with my record lately.  Anyway, Mai is awesome, hush.

QUESTION: Will there ever be more KILL ZUKO?
ANSWER: Yes.

QUESTION: Will there ever be more DANCE!?
ANSWER: Heck, yes.

And that's that.  Since this is an FYI post, ask any further (relevant!) questions you might have in the comments, and I'll do my best to answer them.

---

(BONUS:  Look at this ( [link] ), and if you still wonder why this is my second favorite ship for her, you, sir/ma'am, are made of stone.  )

All righty, ladies and gents.  In celebration of the impending Avatar finale, the Fourth of July, AND my account hitting 20,000 hits...

THE WINNERS OF TOBU'S SUMMER '08 FANFIC CONTEST ARE:

ANGAJUK, UNASUK
, for his fic, Brothers

LADY OF BEI FONG
, for her fic, The Lady of Bei Fong

FREEZE, THAW
, for her fic, (untitled)

Congratulations to everybody who entered!  I had a great time reading all the entries.  Links to the winning stories have been added to the deviations that inspired them, as promised.

Winners, please specify what kind of sketch you want for your prize in the comments below, or send me a note.  These are awesome stories, they deserve awesome sketches!  Be as specific as you want, just nothing porny or ridiculously difficult, like Sokka battling Ozai in space gundams next to an exploding planet built entirely of delicate crystal formations or something.

(Also please let me know if you're okay with the prize sketches being posted to your account.)

Well done, everybody!  Ten days to the Avatar final run, and counting!  

Just a quick HEADS-UP, the fanfiction contest ( [link] ) deadline has been EXTENDED to July 4th!

Celebrate freedom and independence from...deadline stress?  (For another few days, anyway.)  Sorry, but I can't extend it again without cutting my prize-drawing time too short.  Do your best, everyone!  

Don't forget, link me to your entry in a note, or send a request for my email in a note if you'd rather mail the file.

Good luck!
-Tobu

So!  

Recently, after I posted :freeze, thaw:, one of the lovely people who commented on it said that it'd be very interesting to see the image worked into a fanfiction.  The idea was very appealing, especially considering how tricksy you'd have to be to fit it into a piece of prose fiction (it's not really meant to be a literal situation, though I guess if you can work out a way to have Katara frozen naked in a block of ice...uh, more power to your imagination?).

Anyhow, I am a busy fanauthor/artist, and  I have too many ideas on my plate as it is.  So...

I'm opening up a contest.  I'll award a request-sketch prize to the best fic that incorporates the image.

Since I know a lot of people who watch my account aren't Zuko/Katara fans (to say the least, in some cases), it didn't seem fair to limit the contest to just the one picture.  So, I picked out two other pictures I've drawn that seem like they could expand into fiction.

(Don't let that stop you from writing something non-romantic about :freeze, thaw:, though.  It could be interpreted in a lot of ways.)


So!  The Rules:

1) The entry must be a piece of original fanfiction, at least 500 words long.  (That's about half a page in single-spaced 10pt Word, fyi.)

2) The entry must be based on one of the following pieces of Avatar fanart by Tobu Ishi:
[link] ":freeze, thaw:"
[link] "Lady of Bei Fong"
[link] "Angajuk, Unasuk"

3) The entry must NOT be:
-copied to the point of plagarism from any other written work.
-pornographic.  Sorry, but this is an all-ages contest.
-an overt bashing of any character or pairing in any shape or form.  It's a fic contest, not a chance to explain in 500 words why Ozairoh or Cabboamy Guy is the biggest waste of ink since the invention of printer test pages.  
-poetry, or lyrics.  Sorry, just aiming for prose this time around.  You can include a line or two of poetry or something for flavor text, if you must.
-spoilery.  Anything after the Boiling Rock is a big no-kay, please.

4) The entry must be sent to Tobu Ishi in a dA note by July 1st, 2008.  (To give me time to pick winners and sketch the prizes before The Big Day hits on the 14th...)  If it's too long of a story, drop me a note and I'll privately give you my email address.


Prizes: I'll pick a winning story for each picture, and draw a gift sketch for each winner on the subject of their choice.  (Again, no porn, otherwise anything goes.)  Also, if you post the fic to dA or ff.net or similar, I'll link to it from the original picture.


I suppose that's it.  Awfully simple contest, really, but a nice way to while away the hours until the final splatter of episodes finally gets doled out to us!

  Have at it!  

Darn "Sozin's Comet", anyway.  >: [

I know there are those of you (like me) whose hearts will be broken if too much of the finale plot slips through to you.  Seriously, whose idea was it to let the story out to play as a cheap novelization before broadcasting it in its full glory?

I mean, who wants to be told the Cabbage Man dies in a wild kamikaze attack on Ozai that saves the day, when we could watch it in all its marvelous sound and color, drama and pathos?

But it's pretty difficult these days, isn't it, when everybody and their auntie seems to be discussing that cursed book on their LiveJournals, on message boards, and--worst of all--seeding their deviantART signatures with useful little messages like SCREW SOZIN'S COMET, FOAMY WILL NEVER DIE IN OUR HEARTS!, APPA/MOMO HAPPENS POST-SERIES 3!!, and MIKE AND BRYAN SHIP IROH/KOH!!!  It's enough to make you want to swear off dA until July, and those are drastic measures indeed.

For those of you struggling, like me, with this annoying phenomenon, here's a tip!  I've discovered a very handy little widget in the deviantART help section: :faq564:

I figured it was my public duty to pass this on to others, who might not know that it's a viable option to turn off all signatures.  Hurrah!  Another source of spoilers, safely neutralized.  Only 1,354,907 to go!

Good luck, everybody.  

I am Tobu Ishi!  My name has deep and meaningful meaning in Japanese!  Except not.

I enjoy drawing, am not especially confident about my skills, and held off getting a DA account for a long time because I didn't feel good enough.  I'm still a rotten digital colorer and hopeless with any "real" media other than pencil and ink, but I'm getting better.

My gallery contains a lot more Avatar fanart than is really healthy for anybody; fortunately I have a hearty constitution.  There are scatterings of other things, mostly FMA with a touch of assorted anime and games, and a bit of Gorillaz for flavor.  My scraps section contains several peculiar sketches for a roleplaying game I was in called OMG!NarutoRP.  For anyone who cares, I played OOC Anko, a melodramatic vampyre wannabe.

I'm a Pisces/Aquarius born on the cusp, a kid at heart, and an avid cosplayer and watcher of far too much anime.  And I hope you enjoy my scribbles.  ^_^

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~